he breakfast, I
leave an abler pen than mine, the _Natal Advertiser_, to describe:
sufficient to say, I felt very proud of our men who looked splendid,
hard as nails and sunburnt, in fact, _men_; and Halsey surpassed
himself when he was suddenly turned on to return thanks to the Mayor
in the street, and later on at the breakfast. The witty and
appropriate speech also of Colonel Morris, Commandant, will make him
to be remembered by the men of the Naval Brigade as the "Wit of
Durban," and not the "Villain of Durban," by which title he described
himself.

Here is what the _Natal Advertiser_ says of the day's proceedings:--

Among the first of the "handy men" who, with their 4.7 guns, went
to the front, were those of H.M. ships _Philomel_ and _Tartar_.
Though in many of the reports H.M.S. _Terrible's_ men got the
credit of the work done, the duties were equally shared by the
two other contingents from the cruisers. On October 29th,
twenty-nine men of the _Tartar_ left Durban, and on November
11th, thirty-three men and two officers of the _Philomel_ were
entrained to Chieveley. These men went forward to the relief of
Ladysmith, and had to face many hardships and many a stiff fight.
To-day the last of them returned from the front. Out of the
twenty-nine men of H.M.S. _Tartar_ that went forward, only
eighteen returned; and out of the thirty-three men and two
officers of H.M.S. _Philomel_ twenty-three men and two officers
came down. These losses speak eloquently of the tasks performed,
and the hardships endured. Of those who could not answer the
roll-call this morning, some have been killed in action, others
died of disease, while a few have been invalided. After the men
of the _Powerful_, the _Terrible_, and the Naval Volunteers
returned, the _Philomel_ and _Tartar_ contingents were kept at
their posts, and, even on their return they had trouble at Grass
Kop and Sandspruit. The officers in charge of the men were
Lieutenant Halsey, Lieutenant Burne, and Midshipman Ledgard.

Shortly after 8 o'clock this morning a crowd began to assemble at
the Railway Station, awaiting the arrival of the down mail train.
On the platform were: the Commandant, Colonel Morris, the Mayor
(Mr. J. Nichol), Commander Dundas, of H.M.S. _Philomel_, the
Deputy Mayor (Mr. J. Ellis Brown), Lieutenant Belcombe, Mr. W.